View source for The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film)

{{short description|2009 film directed by Tony Scott}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{use American English|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Taking of Pelham 123
| image          = Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film).jpg
| alt            = The face of Denzel Washington on the top left stacked above John Travolta on the lower right with the film title in the center.
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Tony Scott]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Todd Black
* Tony Scott
* Jason Blumenthal
* [[Steve Tisch]]
}}
| writer         =
| screenplay     = [[Brian Helgeland]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (novel)|The Taking of Pelham One Two Three]]''<br>1973 novel|[[Morton Freedgood|John Godey]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Denzel Washington]]
* [[John Travolta]]
* [[John Turturro]]
* [[Luis Guzmán]]
* [[Michael Rispoli]]
* [[James Gandolfini]]
}}
| music          = [[Harry Gregson-Williams]]
| cinematography = [[Tobias A. Schliessler]]
| editing        = [[Chris Lebenzon]]
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Columbia Pictures]]
* [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures]]
* [[Relativity Media]]
* [[Scott Free Productions]]
* [[Escape Artists]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Sony Pictures Releasing]]
| released       = {{Film date|2009|06|12}}
| runtime        = 106 minutes<!-- U.S. theatrical release: 105:43 -->
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $100–110 million<ref name="the-numbers" /><ref name="mojo" />
| gross          = $150.2 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''The Taking of Pelham 123''''' is a 2009 American [[Action film|action]] [[thriller film]]<ref name="mojo" /> directed by [[Tony Scott]] from a screenplay by [[Brian Helgeland]]. It is the third [[film adaptation]] of the [[Morton Freedgood|John Godey]] novel [[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (novel)|of the same name]] (following the [[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film)|1974 theatrical film]] and [[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998 film)|1998 television film]]). The film is about a [[train dispatcher]] ([[Denzel Washington]]), who is pressed into the role of negotiator after a criminal ([[John Travolta]]) hijacks a subway car of passengers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=37612|title=The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three|work=ComingSoon.net|access-date=December 25, 2008}}</ref> The film was released on June 12, 2009. It grossed $150 million against a production budget of about $100 million and received mixed reviews from critics.
==Plot==
A man calling himself Ryder and his accomplices—Bashkin, Emri, and former [[train driver|train operator]] Phil Ramos—hijack Pelham 123, a [[New York City Subway]] [[6 (New York City Subway service)|6 train]], at [[77th Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|77th Street]]. Uncoupling the front car of the train below [[Lexington Avenue/51st Street station|51st Street]], they take the passengers hostage. [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] employee Walter Garber, working the Rail Control Center as a train dispatcher, receives a call from Ryder, demanding $10 million in cash to be paid within 60 minutes. Ryder warns that every minute he waits past the deadline, he will kill a hostage.
Bashkin kills an intervening plainclothes [[New York City Transit Police]] officer, and all the passengers not in the front car, except the motorman, are released. Garber reluctantly negotiates with Ryder as Ramos and Emri set up Internet access in the tunnel. On his laptop, Ryder watches the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] plunge nearly 1,000 points in response to the hijacking. A hostage's laptop also connects to the Internet, and its [[webcam]] allows the control center to observe Ryder and Ramos. Lieutenant Camonetti of the [[New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit]] takes over negotiations, which infuriates Ryder, who kills the train's motorman to force Camonetti to bring Garber back.
Camonetti learns that Garber is being investigated for allegedly accepting a $35,000 bribe over a contract for new Japanese subway cars. Ryder also discovers the allegations online and forces Garber to confess by threatening to kill a passenger. To save the hostage, Garber claims that he was offered the bribe while deciding between two companies, using the money to pay for his child's college tuition, and insists he would have made the same decision regardless. The mayor agrees to Ryder's ransom, ordering the police to deliver it. En route, the police car crashes and fails to deliver the money in time. Garber attempts to bluff Ryder that the ransom has arrived, unaware he has been monitoring events on his laptop. Ryder threatens to execute a child's mother, but another hostage, a former soldier, sacrifices himself and is killed. A brief gunfight erupts after an Emergency Services Unit sniper is bitten by a rat and discharges his weapon, killing Ramos.
Based on clues from Garber's conversations, the police discover that Ryder is Dennis Ford, a manager at a private equity firm who was sentenced to prison for [[securities fraud|investment fraud]]. Ford had agreed to a plea bargain to serve three years, but received ten years instead. One of the mayor's aides mentions the extreme drop in the major stock indexes, and the mayor infers that Ryder is attempting to manipulate the market via [[put option]]s. Ryder demands that Garber deliver the ransom money himself to avoid coming in contact with the police. Garber is flown to the terminal, where he is given a pistol for protection. Ryder brings Garber aboard and orders him to operate the train down the tunnel below [[33rd Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line station)|33rd Street]], where Garber and the hijackers exit, rigging the train to go on without them. Garber manages to separate himself at a railway crossing and then follows Ryder to [[Track 61 (New York City)|Track 61]] underneath [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Astoria hotel]]. Ryder parts from Bashkin and Emri, who are shot dead after being surrounded by police and provoking [[deadly force]] in an apparent [[suicide-by-cop]]. The train comes to a screeching halt safely just before [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station|Coney Island]] ([[West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium station|West 8th Street-New York Aquarium]]), and the police discover that Ryder is no longer on board.
Ryder hails a taxi, with Garber following him on-foot, and finds out that his scheme has amassed $307 million. Garber steals a car and pursues Ryder. After a brief chase, they reach the [[Manhattan Bridge]]'s pedestrian walkway, where Garber catches up with Ryder and holds him at gunpoint. Ryder gives him a 10-second ultimatum to pull the trigger, and in the final seconds, pulls out his own gun and forces Garber to shoot him. Telling Garber in his final breath, "You're my goddamn hero", Ryder collapses and dies (as Garber solemnly looks on while Camonetti observes approvingly from a chopper).
The mayor thanks Garber and assures him the city will "go to bat" for him over his bribery admission. The film concludes as Garber returns home to his wife with groceries he had promised to pick up.
==Cast==
* [[Denzel Washington]] as Walter Garber, an [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] subway dispatcher, who is negotiating with the hijackers. The negotiator in the [[The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film)|1974 film]] was a transit policeman named Lt. Zachary Garber (portrayed by [[Walter Matthau]]); [[Edward James Olmos]] played Detective Anthony Piscotti, the negotiator in the 1998 television movie.<ref name="sfgate" /><ref name="set">{{cite magazine|first1=Tatiana|last1=Siegel|first2=Michael|last2= Fleming|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/denzel-washington-set-for-pelham-1117972498/|title=Denzel Washington set for 'Pelham'|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 23, 2007}}</ref>
* [[John Travolta]] as Dennis 'Ryder' Ford / Mr. Blue, the leader of the hijackers. Instead of playing a mercenary, he plays a former Wall Street "high roller" who blames [[New York City]] and the mayor for causing him to stay in prison for 10 years, longer than his plea deal of three years. Scott courted Travolta heavily for the actor's first acting role in years. Travolta earned $20 million for his work in the film.<ref name="boards">{{cite magazine |first1=Michael |last1=Fleming |first2=Tatiana |last2=Siegel |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/features/travolta-boards-pelham-remake-2-1117974767/ |title=Travolta boards 'Pelham' remake |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=October 25, 2007 }}</ref> The role was originally portrayed by [[Robert Shaw (British actor)|Robert Shaw]] in the 1974 film. [[Vincent D'Onofrio]] played Ryder in the 1998 TV movie. In the first two movies, Ryder used the alias "Mr. Blue".
* [[John Turturro]] as Lieutenant Vincent Camonetti, hostage negotiator with the [[New York City Police Department|NYPD]]'s [[Emergency Service Unit]].
* [[James Gandolfini]] as the Mayor of New York, who is under heavy pressure to address the hostage crisis. The character was originally portrayed by [[Lee Wallace (actor)|Lee Wallace]] in the 1974 film.
* [[Luis Guzmán]] as Phil Ramos / Mr. Green, former MTA motorman, one of the hijackers. The role, originally named "Harold Longman", alias "Mr. Green", was portrayed by [[Martin Balsam]] in the 1974 film. [[Richard Schiff]] played him in the 1998 film.
* [[Michael Rispoli]] as John Johnson, Garber's boss and head of the MTA's Rail Control Center
* [[Gbenga Akinnagbe]] as Wallace, one of the hostages on the train.
* [[Frank Wood (actor)|Frank Wood]] as Police Commissioner Sterman
* [[John Benjamin Hickey]] as Deputy Mayor LaSalle
* [[Gary Basaraba]] as Jerry Pollard, original motorman of the hijacked train
* [[Ramón Rodríguez (actor)|Ramón Rodríguez]] as Delgado, an MTA train dispatcher
* Robert Vataj as Emri / Mr. Brown, the stammering young gun, who helps hijack the train under the command of Ryder. The character originally named "Steever" was portrayed by [[Earl Hindman]] in the 1974 film.
* [[Jake Siciliano]] as an eight-year-old boy who is held hostage with his mom.
* [[Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor|Aunjanue Ellis]] as Theresa, Garber's wife
* [[Tonye Patano]] as Regina, MTA conductor on the hijacked train
* [[Jason Butler Harner]] as Mr. Thomas, a hostage who has to pee
* [[Victor Gojcaj]] as Bashkin / Mr. Gray, the most aggressive of the hijackers. The character, originally named "Joe Welcome", alias "Mr. Grey", was portrayed by [[Hector Elizondo]] in the 1974 film. [[Donnie Wahlberg]] played him in the 1998 TV movie.
* [[Brian Haley]] as Police Captain Hill
* [[Adrian Martinez (actor)|Adrian Martinez]] as Cabbie
==Differences==
The first drafts of the script faced the challenge of updating the novel with contemporary technology, including cell phones, global positioning systems, the Internet, laptops, and [[Thermography|thermal imaging]], as well as the environment of a [[Aftermath of the September 11 attacks|post-9/11 world]] in New York City. In December 2007, [[David Koepp]], who adapted the novel for Scott and Washington said:<ref name="mtvblog">{{cite news|first=Shawn|last=Adler|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/12/27/taking-of-pelham-not-as-easy-as-123-says-screenwriter/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230062614/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/12/27/taking-of-pelham-not-as-easy-as-123-says-screenwriter/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 30, 2007|title ='Taking Of Pelham' Not As Easy As '123,' Says Screenwriter|work=MTV Movies Blog|publisher=[[MTV]]|date=December 27, 2007|access-date=July 18, 2008}}</ref>
<blockquote>I wrote many drafts to try and put it in the present day and keep all the great execution that was there from the first one. It’s thirty years later so you have to take certain things into account. Hopefully we came up with a clever way to move it to the present.</blockquote>
Koepp's drafts were meant to be "essentially familiar" to those who read the novel, preserving the "great hero vs. villain thing" of the original.<ref name="mtvblog" /> Brian Helgeland, the only one who received credit for the screenplay, took the script in a different direction, making the remake more like the 1974 film than the novel and, as Helgeland put it, making it about "two guys who weren't necessarily all that different from each other".<ref name="sfgate">{{cite news |last=Ordoña |first=Michael|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/taking-of-pelham-1-2-3-stars-travolta-denzel-3228679.php|title='Taking of Pelham 123' stars Travolta, Denzel|newspaper= San Francisco Chronicle |date= June 7, 2009|access-date= June 8, 2009}}</ref> As writer Michael Ordoña describes it:<ref name="sfgate" />
<blockquote>Whereas the novel is told from more than 30 perspectives — keeping readers off balance because it is unknown which characters the writer might suddenly discard — the two films focus on the lead hijacker and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee with whom he communicates by phone. The new version sharpens that focus until it's almost exclusively a duel between disgraced MTA dispatcher Walter Garber and manic gunman Ryder.
</blockquote>
In the book and original film, Ryder is "cold-blooded and calculating", but in the 2009 film, he is a "loose cannon willing to kill innocents not out of necessity but out of spite".<ref name="sfgate" /> Also, Ryder in the original film and book is portrayed as a normal-looking businessman, while in the 2009 film, he looks as if he has adopted prison life, sporting very visible prison tattoos, and the laid-back style of a biker.
In the 1974 film, the main character (played by [[Walter Matthau]]) is named Zachary Garber and is a lieutenant in the transit police; in the 2009 film, the main character (played by [[Denzel Washington]]) is named Walter Garber (which incidentally may be an in-house tribute to the late Walter Matthau), and works as a subway train dispatcher.
Ryder also demands $10 million instead of $1 million as in the original film and book or $5 million in the made-for-TV film. Ryder does not use the "Mr. Blue" nickname as in the original film. Instead, Ryder is a nickname adopted by Dennis Ford.
In the 1974 film, the train-operating hostage-taker is the only member of the group to live long enough to see himself behind bars, while all of the hostage-takers die in the 2009 film.
==Production==
Production began in March 2008 with all cast and crew being required to attend a track safety course taught by [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] personnel, as much of the filming would take place in the subway on active tracks.<ref>{{cite journal |first1= Leslie |last1= Simmons |last2= Nordyke |first2 = Kimberly|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i8549911074ed04d4737b9c5860a5136b |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910171050/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i8549911074ed04d4737b9c5860a5136b |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |title= Escape Artists ramp up for pics, Sony deal |journal= The Hollywood Reporter |publisher= Nielsen Company |date=January 15, 2008|access-date=March 7, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Randy|last=Kennedy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/movies/03kenn.html|title='Manhattan Transfer: Remaking 'Pelham'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 1, 2009|access-date=June 4, 2009}}</ref> For the initial hijack sequence at [[Grand Central (IRT Flushing Line)|Grand Central]] on the [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]], the crew used the westbound track during late night hours while regular [[7 (New York City Subway service)|7 train]] service operated in both directions on the eastbound track. An [[R142A (New York City Subway car)|R142A]] train (the model previously used on the [[6 (New York City Subway service)|6 train]] at the time) was used for the Grand Central sequence. Many locations in Brooklyn were used during filming. A large portion was filmed on the [[New York Transit Museum|Transit Museum]] local track between the [[Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station]] and the [[New York Transit Museum]] on the [[IND Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Showing Image 122286 |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?122286 |website=www.nycsubway.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Showing Image 122287 |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?122287 |website=www.nycsubway.org}}</ref>
For exterior filming only, [[R62A (New York City Subway car)|R62A]] car #2079 was used during filming to give the appearance of an R142A car.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whats left of car 2079 after The Pelham movie? |url=https://www.nyctransitforums.com/topic/10444-whats-left-of-car-2079-after-the-pelham-movie/ |website=www.nyctransitforum.com}}</ref> Interior car scenes were filmed at the [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]] in [[Queens]] on a set that more closely resembles the newer and larger [[R160B (New York City Subway car)|R160B]] (which were still being delivered at the time of filming).<ref>{{cite web |title=Kaufman Astoria Studios |url=https://www.queensbuzz.com/kaufman-astoria-studios---tv-film-production-in-queens-cms-649-printer |website=www.queensbuzz.com |access-date=August 15, 2020}}</ref> Outdoor street filming locations were the lower level of the [[Manhattan Bridge]]; [[Tudor City]], including the First Avenue tunnel near the [[Headquarters of the United Nations]]; the [[Upper East Side]]; [[Times Square]] and the [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]] area; the [[Whitlock Avenue station]] on the [[IRT Pelham Line|Pelham Line]] in [[Hunts Point, Bronx]]; and [[Turtle Bay, Manhattan|Turtle Bay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalfilmlocations.net/2016/09/08/the-taking-of-pelham-123-film-locations/|title=The Taking of Pelham 123 Film Locations|date=September 8, 2016|website=Global Film Locations}}</ref> Some scenes were also shot in [[Lower Manhattan]].
The scene with the police leaving the Brooklyn Federal Reserve, which does not exist, was actually the rear of the [[United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General|United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General]], located next to the [[World Trade Center (2001–present)|World Trade Center]], in front of the [[World Trade Center (PATH station)|PATH station]] entrance.
==Release and marketing==
The film was originally scheduled to release on July 31, 2009, but the release was moved earlier to June 12, 2009. The first theatrical poster was released on February 10, 2009, while the first trailer for the film debuted at the screenings of ''[[The International (2009 film)|The International]]'' on February 13, 2009.
John Travolta decided against promoting the film, as it was released just five months after the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett. He stated that he still was not ready to step back into the spotlight. Travolta released the following statement: <blockquote>Tony, Denzel, Luis, John, James and Sony Pictures stepped up without hesitation to help promote this wonderful film, and their unselfish efforts have allowed my family the additional time to reconcile our loss. I am very proud of the efforts we have all made in making this movie, and I want each and every one of you to enjoy it. So, set your calendars for the weekend of June 12th. I promise you won't be disappointed. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/06/john-travolta-thanks-his-/“pelham-123”-colleagues-giving-him-time-heal|title=John Travolta Thanks His "Pelham 123" Colleagues for Giving Him Time to Heal|date=June 8, 2009|publisher=[[Radar (magazine)|Radar Online]]|access-date=June 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611094724/http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/06/john-travolta-thanks-his-%E2%80%9Cpelham-123%E2%80%9D-colleagues-giving-him-time-heal|archive-date=June 11, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref></blockquote>
==Reception==
===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''The Taking of Pelham 123'' has an approval rating of 51% based on 230 reviews, with an average rating of 5.45/10. The site's critical consensus says: "Despite a strong cast, ''The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3'' suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1207149-taking_of_pelham_1_2_3/ | title = The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) | publisher = [[Fandango Media]] | work = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date = April 1, 2020 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/takingofpelham2009 | title= Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The | publisher= [[CBS]] | work = [[Metacritic]] }}</ref>
Jim Ridley of the ''[[Village Voice]]'' noted that the new ''Pelham'' film was not as good as the original: "Scott's redo comes up short in almost every regard against the '74 model ... If it's somehow unfair to compare the two, why was ''The Taking of Pelham 123'' even remade?"<ref>{{cite news|last=Ridley|first=Jim|title=Blood on Tracks in Taking of Pelham 123: In this subway series, the original Pelham wins|work=[[Village Voice]]|date=June 9, 2009|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2009-06-10/film/blood-on-tracks-in-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3/|access-date=June 11, 2009}}</ref> "As expected, Tony Scott’s hyperkinetic, entirely unnecessary revamp attempts to update ''Pelham'' by cranking the volume and inflating the Noo Yawk attitude to a cartoonish level of macho posturing," wrote Sean Burns in ''[[Philadelphia Weekly]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Burns |first=Sean |title=The Taking of Pelham 123: This warmed-over version of the 1970s subway-hijack thriller is typical Tony Scott bombast |work=[[Philadelphia Weekly]] |date=June 9, 2009 |url=https://philadelphiaweekly.com/screen/reviews/Heat-Fresh.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907234412/http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/screen/reviews/Heat-Fresh.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2012 }}</ref> Writing in ''[[New York Press]]'', Armond White was critical of Tony Scott's direction: "Tony Scott’s craft cannot create suspense, it substitutes noise, cursing and brutality."<ref>{{cite news|last=White|first=Armond|title=The Taking of Pelham 123|work=[[New York Press]]|date=June 10, 2009|url=https://www.nypress.com/article-19940-the-taking-of-pelham-123.html|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-date=June 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617214147/http://www.nypress.com/article-19940-the-taking-of-pelham-123.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Michael Rechtshaffen of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' noted: "Even with the plot's built-in ticking clock, the film relinquishes the tautly calibrated pace in the third act, never to get completely back on track."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rechtshaffen |first=Michael |title=Film Review: The Taking of Pelham 123 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=June 5, 2009 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/film-review-the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3-1003980541.story |access-date=June 11, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609112902/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/film-review-the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3-1003980541.story |archive-date=June 9, 2009 }}</ref> [[David Edelstein]]'s review for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' carried the headline "''The Taking of Pelham 123'' is not worth running down a flight of subway-station stairs for."<ref>{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=Stalled Trains: The Taking of Pelham 123 is not worth running down a flight of subway-station stairs for.|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=June 7, 2009|url=https://nymag.com/movies/reviews/57178/|access-date=June 11, 2009}}</ref>
[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film two and a half stars, and began his review with "There's not much wrong with Tony Scott's ''The Taking of Pelham 123'', except that there's not much really right about it."<ref name="ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=The Taking of Pelham 123 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=June 10, 2009 |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3-2009 |access-date=2020-06-10 }}</ref> Ebert commented that the lead actors lacked passion in their performances: "Oh, John Travolta is angry and Denzel Washington is determined, but you don’t sense passion in the performances. They’re about behaving, not evoking."<ref name="ebert" /> He also compared it unfavorably with the 1974 original, calling it "less juicy" and opining that the special effects are "not an improvement".<ref name="ebert" /> [[Christy Lemire]] of the ''[[Associated Press]]'' gave the film two out of four stars, and called it "another overcaffeinated thriller".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lemire |first1=Christy |title='Pelham' an overcaffeinated thriller |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/pelham-an-overcaffeinated-thriller/ |website=www.aspentimes.com |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lemire |first=Christy |title=Tony Scott's 'Pelham 123 |url=http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090609/entertainment/film_review_pelham1_2_3 |access-date=June 9, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
Writing for the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'', Roger Moore gave the film three out of five stars, and commented "''Pelham'', for its crowd-pleasing heart-racing virtues ... plays out like a Tony–Denzel pairing that Denzel, at least, should have taken a pass on."<ref>{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Roger|title=Movie Review: The Taking of Pelham 123: 3 of 5 stars|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=June 12, 2009|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/movies/orl-movie-review-taking-of-pelham-123-061209,0,3434059.story|access-date=June 11, 2009}}</ref> In a review for ''[[MSNBC]]'', [[Alonso Duralde]] was critical of John Travolta's performance in the film, comparing it to his roles in ''[[Swordfish (film)|Swordfish]]'' (2001) and ''[[Battlefield Earth (film)|Battlefield Earth]]'' (2000): "Travolta remains singularly unbelievable as a villain. In movies like this and ''Swordfish'' and, let's not forget, ''Battlefield Earth'', the actor strives for malice but generally can’t get much darker than playground-bully meanness."<ref>{{cite news|last=Duralde|first=Alonso|title='Pelham 123'remake goes down for the count: Extraneous car chases distract from what could have been|work=Today.com|date=June 9, 2009|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/pelham-1-2-3-remake-goes-down-count-wbna31194351|access-date=June 11, 2009}}</ref> Peter Travers, writing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, stating, "This movie hits you like 600 volts from a sparking third rail. Damn straight it's electrifying [...] The only letdown comes in Scott's handling of the passengers, who remain frustratingly generic."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|title=Taking of Pelham 123|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher= Rolling Stone|year=2009|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/21416733/review/28631105/the_taking_of_pelham_123|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614081741/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/21416733/review/28631105/the_taking_of_pelham_123|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2009|access-date=June 11, 2009}}</ref>
Film critic [[Ignatiy Vishnevetsky]], writing in his blog, commented that he loved the film, and thought it was one of three of Scott's great movies of the 2000s, saying: "...{{nbsp}}the coherence in his films is not between the pages of a script; it's between shots, and his greatest asset (both to himself and to cinema as a whole) is his ability to construct scenes out of shots that take place across great distances of space or time, as in his two best movies: [[Déjà Vu (2006 film)|''Déjà Vu'']] (much of whose running time consists of characters watching a past event through a sort of [[time travel|time machine]]) and his remake of ''The Taking of Pelham 123'' (where the two main characters develop a complex relationship, despite not meeting until the end of the movie)."<ref>{{cite news|last=Vishnevetsky|first=Ignatiy|title=Addendum to Supercoherence, Revisited|url=https://soundsimages.blogspot.com/2010/04/addendum-to-supercoherence-revisited.html|access-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref>
===Box office===
The film debuted in the number three spot with approximately US$25 million at the box office in the United States in its opening weekend, in what ''[[The New York Times]]'' called "an unusually quiet weekend at the box office because of soft ticket sales for ''The Taking of Pelham 123''".<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Brook|author2=Patricia Cohen |title=A Sluggish Showing at the Box Office|work=The New York Times|page=C2|date=June 15, 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/movies/15arts-ASLUGGISHSHO_BRF.html?ref=movies|access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref>
The film was beaten out by ''[[The Hangover (film)|The Hangover]]'' and ''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]'' for the number one and number two spots.<ref name="fritz">{{cite news|last=Fritz|first=Ben|title='Taking of Pelham 123' and 'Imagine That' fizzle|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 15, 2009|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-boxoffice15-2009jun15,0,6788212.story|access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref>
''The Taking of Pelham 123'' had a production budget of $100 million and was co-financed with [[Relativity Media]] and [[Sony Pictures]].<ref name="fritz" /> Ben Fritz of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' commented on the box office results of the film's opening weekend ($23,373,102): "Although far from disastrous, that's a soft start for a film budgeted at more than $100 million."<ref>{{cite news | last =Fritz | first =Ben | title =First look: 'Hangover' down only 26%, 'Pelham' so-so, 'Imagine That' DOA | work =Company Town | publisher =[[Los Angeles Times]] | date =June 14, 2009 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/company-town-blog/story/2009-06-14/first-look-hangover-down-only-26-pelham-so-so-imagine-that-doa | access-date =June 15, 2009}}</ref> The film earned $150,166,126 worldwide during its release from June 12 to August 23, 2009.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url = https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1551205889/ | title = Taking of Pelham 123 | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher = [[Amazon.com]] }}</ref>
==Home video==
{{Anchor|Video|DVD}}
DVD and [[Blu-ray]] versions of the movie with bonus features were released on November 3, 2009. The film opened up at No. 3 at the DVD sales chart, making $14.1m off 919,000 DVD units in the first week of release.<ref name="the-numbers">{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/TP123-DVD.php |title=The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) - Financial Information |publisher=The-numbers.com |access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref> These features included commentaries and [[Making-of|behind-the-scenes]] featurettes. In South Korea, the DVD and Blu-ray were released in October, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Taking-of-Pelham-1-2-3-Blu-ray/213171//|title=The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Blu-ray Release Date October 27, 2009 (서브웨이 하이재킹 : 펠햄 123) (South Korea)}}</ref> The digital release of the film is in [[16x9]] [[open matte]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Portal|Film}}
* {{IMDb title|1111422|The Taking of Pelham 123}}
* {{AllMovie title|418608|The Taking of Pelham 123}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=736396}}
* {{AFI film|65003}}
* {{Mojo title|takingofpelham09|The Taking of Pelham 123}}
{{Tony Scott}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taking Of Pelham 123, The}}
[[Category:2009 films]]
[[Category:2009 action thriller films]]
[[Category:2009 crime thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s crime action films]]
[[Category:American action thriller films]]
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[[Category:Remakes of American films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Escape Artists films]]
[[Category:Films about the New York City Police Department]]
[[Category:Films about extortion]]
[[Category:Films about hijackings]]
[[Category:Films about hostage takings]]
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[[Category:Films about railway accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on crime novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Morton Freedgood]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tony Scott]]
[[Category:Films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films set on the New York City Subway]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Brian Helgeland]]
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[[Category:2000s American films]]
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[[Category:English-language crime thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language action thriller films]]